Prairie State Wire

Axios has released a short list of potential candidates to replace President Joe Biden (D) on the November ballot after his performance on the recent presidential debate against former president Donald Trump (R). 

The Presidential debate on June 27 was the first time a campaign debate had be held between a former president and current president. A CNN poll from after the debate reported 67% of viewers considered Trump to be the winner. The same poll from after the 2020 debate between Trump and Biden had 39% of viewers viewing Trump as the winner. 

A list of possible Democrat politicians that could replace Biden on the ticket includes Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who assumed office in 2019 and was reelected as governor in the 2022 election. Pritzker has previously created a nonprofit advocacy group to fund and support abortion rights ballot measures across the country. He regularly posts about Trump on his X account, most recently calling him a "34-count convicted felon who cares only about himself."

The list from Axios also includes current Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), California Governor Gavin Newsom, and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. 

The Democrat party could use an open nomination process at their Democratic National Convention to vote in a new candidate, which would require some delegates whose states selected Biden in the primary to choose another candidate.